Lucky's Famous Burgers

264 W. 23rd St, NY, NY 10023

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visits: First Time
Surprisingly we'd never tried Lucky's Famous Burgers though its kitschy red and yellow interior is precisely the type of place you could find us at. We had the Lucky Cheddar Burger, which was pretty fine if it not a bit on the dry side. No reason to go out of your way, but if you need a reasonably quick bite that isn't overly processed, Lucky's is your place.

Pret a Manger

24 W. 23rd St, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 23
In brief: You can count on Pret for a fresh sandwich. Everyone has a favorite, ours is the roast beef, parmesan and arugula on a baguette.

How we love you Pret a Manger, especially when you send us an array of sandwiches in honor of National Sandwich Month. M. and I carefully cut each one up in quarters and thus armed, sat down to sample. We ate too much to tell you which one was the clear stand-out, but I can tell you, of the two chilled soups included with our lunch, we really enjoyed the gazpacho. Perfect for a hot summer day, of which we have had very few lately.

BBQue Smoke Shack

668 6th Ave, NY, NY 10010

Rating: 6 - Regretfully Yours
In brief: Don't be swayed by the "voted best wings" sign. If you must dine here, maybe try the pulled pork sandwich everyone else seemed to be having.
Visit #: 1

We couldn't resist a sign that said "voted best wings" and today, when we needed a quick lunch, BBQue Smoke Shack seemed like a brilliant idea. Anyway, we had to try it, right? Not the best idea we've had. The food takes forever to arrive, there was no Coke in the machine, barely any ice and WOAH when the wings came out. Or do I mean WAH. We picked a medium spicy sauce but in fact the wings were coated, dripping really, in a barbeque sauce that reminded us both precisely of General Tso's Chicken. Still the place was oddly busy, though it seemed most people ordered the pulled pork sandwich. I guess one day we could go back for that, though probably not any time soon.

Dogmatic

Is it so telling that the line to Chopt was out the door while next door at Dogmatic, we ordered and had our food in milliseconds? I guess people really like their mixed salads. Well we really like our lamb hot dogs, especially with a mint yogurt sauce, an order of fries and fresh lemon-lime juice.
Dogmatic, 26 East 17th St, NY, NY 10003 (btwn Broadway and Fifth Ave)

Chipotle

71 Spring St, NY, NY 10012

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 2
In brief: Utterly reliable, the proportions are almost as regular as Subway and the lines move fast.

I had the oddest craving for a Chipotle salad this afternoon. Not like I eat them all the time or have some childhood nostalgia, but sometimes there is something particular about certain fast foods (haha the preservatives maybe) like the Italian combo at Subway or the french fries at Macdonald's that cannot be replicated anywhere else. I wish I had known the downstairs dining room would be freezing though because I could have put off that craving for somewhere warmer.

Popeye's

I hope you're thinking how the hell did M. get such a romantic of fluorescent lit, fast food fried chicken. You should not be thinking what the hell are the lunch ladies doing at Popeye's because, as you know, we will pretty much eat anything anywhere. The nice thing about this particular Popeye's on Walker St is that it is a hustle bustle with patrons so the food coming out is as fresh as you can get from frozen stock. The batch we had today was perfectly crispy, slightly spicy and greasy just in that way fast food does so well. I felt fantastic/horrible afterward.
Popeye's, 96 Walker St, NY, NY 10013 (at Lafayette)

Asia Dog

It was entirely too hot to go anywhere today, we made it a few blocks away, but it was even verging on too hot. We frequently overlook Asia Dog, but it's nice to have them around. Quick, easy and fun. Their yam fries with kimchi aioli is a must if you go. Y tried the pulled pork sammy w/ ginger bbq (pictured) and me the bbq bulgogi burger. Both quite tasty if not a little on the sweet side. Their hotdogs might be a little more interesting but there's all worth a try.
Asia Dog, 66 Kenmare St, NY, NY 10012 (btwn Mulberry and Mott)

Chipotle, with Hong

71 Spring St, NY, NY 10012

Rating: 4 - Just Fine
Visit #: 1
In brief: Utterly reliable, the proportions are almost as regular as Subway and the lines move fast.

Don't be shocked, but we went to the new Chipotle on Spring today for lunch. The infiltration of a up and coming chain to this particular neighborhood is a bit surprising, especially given the many options for good Mexican food around here. But still we wanted to check it out. Aside from the insane pace of the factory-like ordering line, about as nice a fast experience as can possible. Their signature bowls are filling but not heavy, the spaces are design-y and efficient. The space has had some frequent turnover of restaurants over the past several years, but judging by the hoards of lunchers there today, Chipotle will probably stick around for awhile.

Pret a Manger

I think it's super cute that Pret a Manger has a banh mi inspired baguette but as a native Vietnamese eater, it doesn't quite do the trick for me. No Vietnamese person would actively choose white meat chicken and I agree with midtown lunch, the red peppers are distracting. If only they would call it something else, like Taste of the Orient or Hints of South-East Asia. We got ours today from the Union Square location, but did you know there is one at Astor Place?
Pret a Manger, 857 Broadway, New York, NY 10003 (at 17th St)

Shake Shack

If the wait at highly anticipated Mile End Delicatessan is too long (half an hour!) and you can't stay but have to leave with the mouth watering scent of smoked meats trailing you out the door, then only the next best thing will do. Which is why we walked 10 minutes back north to Shake Shack. Where we also had to wait in line, but luckily they are a well oiled machine of burger producing delight and we were not even all that late to our 2pm meeting.
Shake Shack, 409 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 (at Boreum Pl)

Soho Park

We are experiencing momentous change in our office today by becoming Mac users.  We feel utterly useless and retarded in every task we try to tackle, from using the keyboard to downloading photos.  We are old dogs trying to learn new tricks.  So for lunch, we weren't feeling quite so adventurous (and also making our way to the very frightening Apple store), we stuck to some reliable American standards; hamburgers, hotdogs and fries.  I know we will, but it's hard right now to imagine the day we will never look back.
Soho Park, 62 Prince St, NY, NY 10012 (at Lafayette)

3:50pm baked apple pie

The crepes we had for lunch were smaller than could be deemed a filling meal. On the way back from a meeting downtown, I stopped by McDonald's for some french fries and a baked apple pie to satiate our growling stomachs. The problem with obesity is not that apple pies are now baked instead of fried but that they gave me 2 pies instead of the 1 pie that I ordered. When I told him there was a mistake, he said oh well it's 2 for $1. As if that explained everything.
McDonald's, 262 Canal St, NY, NY 10013 (btwn Broadway and Lafayette)

KyoChon

All fast food is not created equal, KyoChon being one of those exceptions. Earlier today I happened to be in K-Town around lunchtime, conveniently next door to KyoChon. I practically ran from the restaurant to the express N train down to Canal, but even so the freshness factor may have suffered a little from time of order to time of eating. We still managed to enjoy it. The sauce seems lighter than our downtown spot, Bon Chon, but that could be my imagination.
KyoChon, 319 Fifth Ave, NY, NY 10016 (at 32nd St)

Dogmatic

It's good to see a crowd at Dogmatic. The whole chose-your-own-ingredients concept too often treads the fine line between great and annoying. But in this case Dogmatic's seriousness about quality ingredients, combined with an attractively designed space and clean website leads to good and tasty results - no matter what you pick.
Dogmatic, 26 East 17th St, NY, NY 10003 (btwn Broadway and Fifth Ave)

Pret a Manger, with Hong

Sometimes the hardest part of lunch is not finding the time to eat, but deciding what to have. It's too bad Hong leaves this weekend back to Berlin, it's been really enjoyable having our lunches decided by her whims. Today she brought us back some sandwiches from Pret a Manger in midtown, which meant even less decision making than usual for us. That's a good lunch.
Pret a Manger, 630 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10022 (below 54th)

Senor Pollo

A bit chilly for a long walk but it's Columbus Day so we went exploring. Actually no, we went specifically to Senor Pollo in the East Village because of Kathy's review. Oh and also because we are completely incapable of resisting potato salad. What heavenly delight! We shared a 1/2 chicken with spanish potato salad and yellow rice for $10.62. As Kathy says, it's an awesome deal and the skin was just right, tasty and flavorful. It reminds us wholeheartedly of a pared-down, fast food style, version of Pio-Pio. Which is a-ok with us.
Senor Pollo, 221 First Ave., NY, NY 10003 (btwn 13th and 14th)

Pret a Manger

A proper lunch was definitely not going to happen today. There's too much running around - from Union Square, West Village, Koreatown to Brooklyn Heights. Pret a Manger to the rescue! Quick, easy, tasty and just filling enough, the roast beef with parmesean and arugula on a baguette is pretty close to perfect.
Pret a Manger, 857 Braodway, NY, NY 10003 (at 17th St, Union Square)

Pret a Manger

2 years and some months later Pret a Manger finally comes closer to a 'hood we can call our own! It's still not walking distance for us but unlike midtown and downtown, Union Square makes for a mighty convenient stop after shopping at nearby tile showrooms. Our usual favorite, the egg salad, felt a bit off today. Either the bread was not super fresh or the egg salad recipe has changed. Or we're a bit off. The ham and swiss on a baguette, on the other hand, was spot on.
Pret a Manger, 857 Broadway, NY, NY 10003 (at 17th St, Union Square)

Pret a Manger

Didn't get a chance to grab lunch prior to a meeting which had my stomach rumbling thunder. When I walked out of the building, spotted a Pret a Manger across the street and felt saved. Decided to try a new one today: the Cubano. The pickle and mayo aced the sandwich.
Pret a Manger, 380 Lexington, corner of 41st

Pret a Manger

It's fortunate one of us had an appointment in midtown earlier today because hiding out in the office with fresh sandwiches from our favorite midtown chain, Pret a Manger, was the perfect lunch on this wet and cold day. In addition to the usual roast beef, parmesean and arugula we also tried the chicken and avocado - a rousing success.
Pret a Manger, 11 West 42nd Street btwn Fifth and Sixth